Honeymoon in Vegas

Beautifully written and directed by Bergman, this paradoxically modern slice of nostalgia energetically revives the long mourned 'oddball' comedy. For once, Cage is pleasantly understated, playing the straight guy beset by nine shades of madness: lunatic mothers, deranged mobsters, singing Chieftains, and sky-diving Elvis impersonators by the dozen, they're all here in this joyous, uplifting romp.

[A] wacky but eminently watchable kitsch-mobile.

Though Honeymoon in Vegas has one of his most accessible premises, Andrew Bergman has never been to everyone's taste and probably never will. He is something of a spritzer in the Mel Brooks mode, someone who spews out such a torrent of manic material that by definition not all of it is going to work. But in an age where screen comedy tends to fit snugly in a handful of pre-set synthetic molds, his all-natural craziness comes as a special treat. Especially if you like to laugh. [28 Aug 1992, p.F2]

Amusing but slow. [28 Aug 1992, p.AE17]

These Elvis clones are just one aspect of the zany atmosphere in this sometimes-entertaining comic romp.

Your basic, humdrum love story, Hollywood-style...The movie's soundtrack provides the most entertainment. Classic Elvis tunes such as Love Me Tender, Are You Lonesome Tonight and (You're the) Devil in Disguise plus others sung by Billy Joel, Amy Grant, Bryan Ferry, Dwight Yoakam and other contemporary pop and country stars keep the film groovin' -- but not enough to make this a Honeymoon worth remembering. [28 Aug 1992, p.G5]

THE MAN who would trade his fiancee - but just for the weekend! - for a $65,000 gambling debt may be rather sleazy, but it probably wouldn't raise many eyebrows in Las Vegas, where sleaze and the concept of woman-as-object have marched hand-in-hand for many years. ''Honeymoon in Vegas'' continues those precepts, and does so woefully, with dumb writing, ordinary direction and performances by Nicolas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker and James Caan that are so awful as to be mind-boggling. [28 Aug 1992, p.3F]